Update

Just a few pictures of the children. It's quite busy around here these days. We are diligently plugging away at school until Nana and Papaw's arrival. To which the children say, "Hurry up!"

Hannah just climbed up in the chair with Seth while he was studying his verses. So sweet.

We plan to pull out our cookies and deliver our plates to neighbors and a few friends this weekend. We tried some Spritz Cookies on Friday only to discover that my cookie press barrel was broken and got thrown away. I did not remember this and was very disappointed so we just scooped out the dough and poured on the sprinkles and they were delicious! Yes, we baked them first. We made some Gingerbread Men and Ladies and packaged some up for a special surprise. We then ate the rest of them without even decorating them because they were so yummy. They ran as fast as they could but we caught them all! We are going to bake some more today so the children can decorate them. They are excited about that. Sugar cookies were the last on my list and we will hopefully make those when we take a break from school. We also made some Peppermint Bark and have eaten most of it, so we'll make some more of that to go on our cookie plates. It's soooo simple in the microwave and it looks very festive.

His new trick is to stick his tongue out. So cute!

Samuel's Dedication was put off due to illness and then we had Jr. Church last week, so we'll be publicly dedicating him to the Lord this Sunday morning at our church. The Christmas Play is Sunday night and the four older children are in it.

The Lord continues to bless us beyond what we could ask or think. Jeremiah still has a job and he is getting a bonus and a ham. That may seem small, but it's just one two more ways that God has provided for our needs recently. He may have lay-off weeks next year, but I am not worried about it. I am actually anxious to see how God uses them for His Glory. We couldn't understand why we had to walk through that this year, but looking back, we saw how He worked everything out for our good. (Romans 8:28)

It is not uncommon to see chickens pecking at the door,
especially when you catch Hannah dropping her lunch,
one handful at a time, out the door to them.

We are looking forward to a wonderful time with family this Christmas as we celebrate Jesus - He's not just a baby in a manger - He's the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!